Journalist resigns in protest as Al Jazeera pulls oligarch investigation

In a fog of accusations, fake emails and death threats, the decision has prompted questions about broadcaster’s independence

Jamie Doward
Sun 20 Oct 2019 07.20 BST

Al Jazeera is at the centre of a row over its decision to pull an investigation into a black propaganda campaign waged against a London-based businessman whose Russian father-in-law, a mining magnate, has apparently fallen foul of rivals linked to the Kremlin.

The journalist who carried out the investigation, Will Jordan, who has been with the broadcaster for a decade, has resigned in protest at the decision which he claims amounts to censorship.

A Fishy Business examined how enemies of Alexander Shchukin, who is currently under arrest on an extortion charge, sought the support of British MPs and peers as they attempted to have the oligarch’s daughter Elena, and his son-in-law, Ildar Uzbekov, hit with an unexplained wealth order, something that would see their assets frozen.

The investigation, conducted in tandem with a separate Observer inquiry, examined the role played by well-connected Russian lobbyists, journalists and fixers in promoting a film, Blood Coal Money, that alleged – without any evidence – that Shchukin was behind the disappearance of a mine administrator in Siberia.

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